The Top 5 Hip-Hop Record Labels to Watch in 2012

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Pittsburgh has been in the spotlight lately because of its budding rap star Mac Miller. Miller has an impressive feat under his belt. His album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts after selling more than 144,000 copies of Blue Slide Park. With no major label or radio push, the 19-year-old has made history as a breakout rapper, who managed to cultivate a massive following on the Internet through a pair of mixtapes 2010’s K.I.D.S and 2011’s Best Day Ever. The label’s other triumph card is Wiz Khalifa and his Taylor Gang movement, another artist who has a steady stream of popular mixtapes and blew up with Kush & Orange Juice. Its latest signee Lola Monroe is a female rapper waiting to shake the game up as Taylor Gang’s first lady. Independent record labels have their share of successes; just check Strange Music and Rhymesayers Entertainment’s growth over the years. So don’t be surprised if the upstart Rostrum Records becomes the next big thing in 2012.